The defending North Coast Section champs got the new girls soccer season off to a flying start on Tuesday afternoon.
The Ferndale Wildcats, who won a first-ever NCS Division-1 crown last year, opened at home against Mendocino and cruised to a 7-0 win.
And it was a good start not just for the team, but also for several of the Ferndale players, including reigning Little 4 MVP Madison Hagemann.
The impressive sophomore announced her presence in the H-DNL with an outstanding season a year ago and she looks ready to pick up this fall just where she left off.
Hagemann led the Ferndale offense with three goals, as the Cats opened up an insurmountable five-goal lead in the opening half.
“It was nice to get that first win,” new head coach Samuel Licona said. “It was our first time playing together without the seniors from last year who played a huge role on the team, so we had to adjust offensively and defensively.
“Going into it we knew it was going to be very different, but they played well.”
One of the seniors the team had to replace is the now-graduated Tinnley Pidgeon, who was a three-time MVP Goalie in the Little 4.
Makenzie Chambers filled that void and did an impressive job along with her defense while posting a season-opening clean sheet between the posts.
Teresa Catana also impressed and scored twice for the defending Little 4 and NCS champs, while Macie Hagemann and Gianna Regli each also found the back of the net.
According to the new coach, who also has some big shoes to fill while replacing the very successful coaching duo of Bailey Davy and Brenden McDonald, the Cats played well in transition.
Catana and Madison Hagemann also connected well up front.
The Cats, who lost just twice in 22 games last fall, will try to keep their good start to the new season going when they travel to play South Fork in the opening game of the Upper Lake Tournament on Thursday.
Kickoff is set for 5 p.m.
